Which desktop brands have good build quality?

[;ivlunsdystf]

Hey, look!

http://messageboard.tapeop.com/viewtopic.php?t=41979

[percussion boy]

Yeah, Mike's leaning toward the "roll your own" option. I don't really have room for that in my life right now, but I'll be curious how the board advises him . . .

[analogcabin]

Think resale value too.

As econo and rewarding as rolling your own 'puter sounds, it's got the kind of resale a Trans-Am painted in your buddy's garage has.

[qball]

Let's put it this way...
I used to build all of my own PCs for home use as well as recording. I thought that was THE way to go until I got my Dell 400SC. It's a real challenge to build a PC with components that work really well together for the price of something like the 400SC. They have already done the work of fitting compatable components. Let's not forget that you have practically NO TECH SUPPORT for a machine that you build yourself. Is that a good feeling when you need to rely on the machine to perform as expected WHEN you want it to? I'd rather make music than dink around with issues.

Something to consider FWIW.

[centurymantra]

OK...this is good timing as I've been looking to pick up a new computer for this purpose. Where's the best place to buy a 400sc?

Thanks!

[JamesHE]

Think resale value too.

As econo and rewarding as rolling your own 'puter sounds, it's got the kind of resale a Trans-Am painted in your buddy's garage has.

Well if you chop up the trans am you can make more money than if you sold it all as one. Albeit with more time involved, but this thread isn't about Trans-AMs. (it should be though )

If your building your own, you don't resale. You just roll old parts into a new build. Keep your hard drives, monitor, maybe the case, sometimes the RAM, CD drives.. etc. You eventually end up with a box of unusable junk eventually though, but you'll get all the life possible out of it. When my home machine went belly up a few years ago, I just got a new motherboard and cpu - 3 times as fast as the old setup and only spent $90. I didn't have to go buy a new machine just so I can browse the TOMB and look at porn.

If I bought a pre-packaged machine the first thing I would do would be to wipe the disks and install the OS myself - so it's not saving me anytime except for the 30 minutes it takes to put parts together once you have them.

If you don't want to get involved in geek-stuff and rolling your own and being your own support, I completly understand - you just want the computer to get out of the way. But also understand this - I am a complete fucking idiot and I can handle it just fine, so you should too.

[qball]

OK...this is good timing as I've been looking to pick up a new computer for this purpose. Where's the best place to buy a 400sc?

Thanks!

They're no longer in production, so I would check eBay.

[percussion boy]

If you don't want to get involved in geek-stuff and rolling your own and being your own support, I completly understand - you just want the computer to get out of the way. But also understand this - I am a complete fucking idiot and I can handle it just fine, so you should too.

I think everyone who's never DIY'd should try it -- just like everyone who's never learned to swim should try it.

My experience, after a couple electronics courses and audio projects, was that I'm a much better musician/songwriter than I am a tech, and that trying to be a good tech was stealing time from the music. Someone with steadier hands and more patience might have a totally different experience, though.

Okay, I'm looking at Dell Outlet Precision workstations . . . those Duos are indeed intriguing . . .

[GooberNumber9]

I've DIY'ed for ten years, my day job is an IT conultant and I've decided I'm never building my own computer again.

I just don't want to take the time to troubleshoot possible RAM, motherboard, processor, or CD-ROM issues. Also having a different warranty for each component of your computer is a pain when (not if) something stops working. If you have a Dell or Apple you can get a three year warranty and the whole computer (even the monitor if you buy it at the same time) is covered. If not, when your motherboard fails you have to go through your OWN troubleshooting process to try to figure out what part is bad (and it's handy to have spare parts around) and then you have to track down the warranty for whatever part, and then you'll probably find that most parts only have 90 day or one year warrantys. So now your computer has been down for two weeks and you have to pay for a new part and wait 1 or 2 business days for shipment, THEN you have to install the replacement part and hope that it works with everything else you have in there (because they probably stopped making the identical part two months after you bought it, so you have a substitution). Then you install the drivers and if you're lucky you will be able to just launch your software and get back to doing what you're supposed to be doing with your computer.

If you like messing around with computers, by all means DIY. If you like messing around with audio, I would recommend against it.

Todd Wilcox

[qball]

I've DIY'ed for ten years, my day job is an IT conultant and I've decided I'm never building my own computer again.

I just don't want to take the time to troubleshoot possible RAM, motherboard, processor, or CD-ROM issues. Also having a different warranty for each component of your computer is a pain when (not if) something stops working. If you have a Dell or Apple you can get a three year warranty and the whole computer (even the monitor if you buy it at the same time) is covered. If not, when your motherboard fails you have to go through your OWN troubleshooting process to try to figure out what part is bad (and it's handy to have spare parts around) and then you have to track down the warranty for whatever part, and then you'll probably find that most parts only have 90 day or one year warrantys. So now your computer has been down for two weeks and you have to pay for a new part and wait 1 or 2 business days for shipment, THEN you have to install the replacement part and hope that it works with everything else you have in there (because they probably stopped making the identical part two months after you bought it, so you have a substitution). Then you install the drivers and if you're lucky you will be able to just launch your software and get back to doing what you're supposed to be doing with your computer.

If you like messing around with computers, by all means DIY. If you like messing around with audio, I would recommend against it.

Todd Wilcox

That wass exactly my point. Being my own IT and being a studio engineer/musician just isn't worth the hastle.

[Aj]

This thread struck a chord with me. I've been building my own PC boxes for studio use for about a decade. I've also gone the Dell route on at least one occasion - right now, I've got a plain vanilla Dell Dimension (similar to the SC400) dedicated to soft synths that I use every day. Works great for that.

It's a tough call which is a better way to go. Depends on the person I'd guess. If you're the type that wants to know what's going on "under-the-hood", then I think DIY PC boxes are the way to go. If you'd prefer to go the consumer route and outsource your tech support, go Dell (just be sure to get a Dell box that works well for your intended application).

But be careful. The Dell you buy today won't necessarily be the Dell you have tommorow when a problem crops up. After you've loaded ProTools/Nuendo/whatever and installed that boutiquey German pro audio soundcard, upped the memory to something more respectable for high VSTi use and perhaps even dropped in a UAD or Powercore card for more varied plug-in support, you'll pretty much be on your own with troubleshooting hardware/software problems anyway.

I know this from first hand experience - my Dell started acting funky about 3 years ago, and their tech support was pretty clueless once I explained what kind of set-up I was running. It wound-up being much easier for me to troubleshoot the problem myself, tell them what I needed them to send me (overnight, of course) and install the needed parts on my own rather than rely on their cookie cutter support routine (and much slower repair timetable - I can't be down a machine for weeks when I have projects that need to be completed).

Eventually, I think we all learn that computers mean occasional problems will happen - a hard drive might go down in the middle of a session; a professional sound interface might conflict with another piece of hardware; or any number of unexpected things that seem to crop up at the worst time. For hard disk based studios, building your own PCs helps to get you comfortable with the in's and out's of your most central piece of gear. That's worth something. Eventually, you're going to be the one maintaining it anyway (unless you've got a support staff at your place!).

Much like soldering and aligning tape heads in an earlier era, I'm more-and-more of the belief that it's impossible to run a computer-based studio and not get your hands dirty "inside the box." Even a Dell won't protect you from that.

Adam

[percussion boy]

I just ordered a used Dell Optiplex 745 from their outlet -- XP pro, 2 gig of RAM, dual monitor support, and one of the slower (2130) Core 2 Duo processors, with a new firewire card, for about $900 out the door. There are several more in the same price range (about $759 for the computer, before other costs).

Turns out an individual can buy a used Opti, but only a business can buy a new one.

Not cheap, but more computer than I expected to be able to get. We shall see.

Thanks again for all the feedback -- definitely steered me away from HP and the Dell Dimensions.

[GooberNumber9]

I just ordered a used Dell Optiplex 745 from their outlet -- XP pro, 2 gig of RAM, dual monitor support, and one of the slower (2130) Core 2 Duo processors, with a new firewire card, for about $900 out the door. There are several more in the same price range (about $759 for the computer, before other costs).

Turns out an individual can buy a used Opti, but only a business can buy a new one.

First of all: Good Score!! Did you get a three year warranty with it, I'm assuming?

Second of all: Are you sure about only businesses buying new Optiplexes? I mean, I just took an Optiplex order all the way to the part where it asks for your credit card. What ended up stopping you on that front?

Todd Wilcox

[percussion boy]

First of all: Good Score!!

Thanks, man; and again, thanks for the guidance.

Did you get a three year warranty with it, I'm assuming?

Yep, I made sure of that.

Second of all: Are you sure about only businesses buying new Optiplexes? I mean, I just took an Optiplex order all the way to the part where it asks for your credit card. What ended up stopping you on that front?

Initially, I tried buying a new Opti online, and it worked 'til I tried to use my personal Dell financing. Maybe you can do it online if you use plastic?

The salesdudes absolutely wouldn't take my order for a new Opti. One of them seemed to imply I could do it if I pretended to be a business; the other said something about needing a tax ID. I lie as little as possible in this life, so I just let the whole thing go.

The outlet will happily sell a used Opti to anyone.